With native spontaneity, Papik laughed and turned shoreward. As he
passed the assembled maidens he paused momentarily and greeted them.
He made a brief proposal of marriage to Ahningnetty, a fat maiden, and
was met with laughter.

"Go on, Long Fingers," one called. "How wilt thou strike the bear when
thy fingers are gone? How wilt thou seek the musk ox when _ookiah_
hath bitten off thy feet?"

The maiden who spoke was extremely thin.

"Ha, ha!" Papik returned. "How wilt thou warm thy husband when the
winter comes? How wilt thou warm the little baby when thou art like
the bear after a famished winter, thou maid of skin and bones!"

"Long-nose! Long-nose! may thy nose freeze!" she called.

The other maidens laughed and gibed at her. In anger she fled into her
_tupik_, or tent. Being very thin she, too, like Papik, suffered from
the bar sinister of nature. For, in selecting a wife, a native comes
down to the practical consideration of choosing a maid who will likely
grow fat, so that, during the long cold winters, her body will be a
sort of human radiator to keep the husband and children warm. So love,
you see, in this region, is largely influenced by an instinctive
knowledge of natural economies.

As he launched his kayak, Ootah turned toward Annadoah.

"Thou art the sun, Annadoah!" he called.